Humans ; Locomotion ; Mesencephalon ; Midbrain Reticular Formation ; Parkinson Disease

Substantial evidence has suggested that deep brain stimulation of the cuneiform nucleus has become a remarkable treatment option for intractable pain, but the possible mechanism is poorly understood. Using a melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R)-green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter knockin mouse, we showed that a large number of MC4R-GFP-positive neurons were expressed in the cuneiform nucleus. Immunofluorescence revealed that approximately 40%-50% of MC4R-GFP-positive neurons expressed mu opioid receptors, indicating that they were opioidergic signaling. Our findings support the hypothesis that MC4R expression in the cuneiform nucleus is involved in the modulation of opioidergic signaling.
Animals ; Gene Expression Regulation ; Gene Knock-In Techniques ; Genes, Reporter ; Green Fluorescent Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Mice ; Mice, Transgenic ; Microtomy ; Midbrain Reticular Formation ; cytology ; metabolism ; Neurons ; cytology ; metabolism ; Receptor, Melanocortin, Type 4 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Receptors, Opioid, mu ; genetics ; metabolism ; Recombinant Fusion Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction

Animals ; Electric Stimulation ; Entopeduncular Nucleus ; physiology ; Male ; Neurons ; physiology ; Pedunculopontine Tegmental Nucleus ; physiology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

A current hypothesis of sleep-wake regulation proposes that the sleep process starts with the activation of sleep-promoting neurons located in the preoptic area of the anterior hypothalamus. This activation leads to the inhibition of wake-promoting neurons located in the posterior hypothalamus, basal forebrain, and mesopontine tegmentum, which, in turn removes inhibition from the sleep-promoting structures(i.e., disinhibition) to initiate the sleep process. Mutual inhibition between these wake- and sleep-promoting neurons results in switching properties that define discrete wakeful and sleep states with sharp transitions between them. Wake-promoting nuclei include the orexinergic lateral hypothalamic/perifornical area, the histaminergic tuberomammillary nucleus, the cholinergic pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus, the noradrenergic locus coeruleus, the 5-hydroxytryptaminergic raphe nuclei, and possibly the dopaminergic ventral tegmental area. The major sleep-promoting nucleus is the GABAergic ventrolateral preoptic nucleus of the hypothalamus. The regulation of sleep is classically viewed as the dual interaction of circadian(SCN-based) and homeostatic processes, and the propensity to be asleep or awake at any given time is a consequence of a sleep debt and its interaction with signals from the SCN circadian clock. To better understand the mechanisms of sleep and wakefulness, the focus of pharmacotherapy is on targeting specific therapies to the particular defect in sleep-wake regulation.
Circadian Clocks ; Circadian Rhythm ; Drug Therapy* ; Hypothalamic Area, Lateral ; Hypothalamus ; Hypothalamus, Anterior ; Hypothalamus, Posterior ; Locus Coeruleus ; Neuroanatomy* ; Neurons ; Pedunculopontine Tegmental Nucleus ; Preoptic Area ; Prosencephalon ; Raphe Nuclei ; Sleep Wake Disorders ; Ventral Tegmental Area ; Wakefulness

Nitric oxide (NO), a free radical that has been postulated to act as a neurotransmitter, neuromodulator, or second messenger molecule in nervous system, is synthesized from L-arginine by nitric oxide synthase (NOS). The NADPH-diaphorase (NADPH-d) histochemical techenique provides a simple and robust method to stain the selected populations of NOS neurons in the brain. This study was aimed to clarify the distribution of NOS neurons in the brain stem of rats. To verify the distribution of NOS neurons in the brain stem, the neurons were stained by the NOS immunohis-tochemistry and NADPH-d histochemistry. Image analyzer-assisted densitometry and cell counting method have been used to quantitatively characterize groups of neuronal cells. Double labeling of NOS immunohistochemistry and NADPH-d histochemistry showed the coexistence of NOS and NADPH-d in same neurons. Neuronal cell bodies exhibiting NOS/NADPH-d staining were found in particular nuclei throughout the brain stem. The number of NOS/NADPH-d neurons were variable in brain stem nuclei. The NADPH-d neurons exhibited different intensities of reaction product. Some groups, including paradorsal raphe nucleus, laterodorsal tegmental nucleus and pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus were extremely heavily stained. Other neurons such as those in the interpeduncular nucleus, central gray, substantia nigra lateralis, nucleus solitarius and raphe obscurus nucleus were moderately stained, while other neurons such supragenual nucleus, lateral paragigantocellular nucleus and prepositus hypoglossal nucleus were weakly stained. The present study describes the many locations within the brain stem in which NADPH-d occurs. Since NADPH-d activity colocalizes with NOS, the results indicate the likely involvement of nitric oxide in the neuronal functions of many brain stem nuclei of rats.
Animals ; Arginine ; Brain Stem* ; Brain* ; Cell Count ; Densitometry ; Immunohistochemistry ; Nervous System ; Neurons ; Neurotransmitter Agents ; Nitric Oxide Synthase* ; Nitric Oxide* ; Pedunculopontine Tegmental Nucleus ; Raphe Nuclei ; Rats* ; Second Messenger Systems ; Solitary Nucleus ; Substantia Nigra

Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized clinically by rigidity, akinesia, resting tremor and postural instability. It has recently been suggested that low frequency stimulation of the pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN) has a role in the therapy for Parkinsonism, particularly in gait disorder and postural instability. However, there is limited information about the mechanism of low frequency stimulation of the PPN on Parkinson's disease. The present study was to investigate the effect and mechanism of low frequency stimulation of the PPN on the firing rate of the ventrolateral thalamic nucleus (VL) in a rat model with unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine lesioning of the substantia nigra pars compacta. In vivo extracellular recording and microiontophoresis were adopted. The results showed that the firing rate of 60.71% VL neurons in normal rats and 59.57% VL neurons in 6-hydroxydopamine lesioned rats increased with low frequency stimulation of the PPN. Using microiontophoresis to VL neurons, we found the firing rate in VL neurons responded with either an increase or decrease in application of acetylcholine (ACh) in normal rats, whereas with a predominant decrease in M receptor antagonist atropine. Furthermore, the VL neurons were mainly inhibited by application of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and excited by GABA(A) receptor antagonist bicuculline. Importantly, the VL neurons responding to ACh were also inhibited by application of GABA. We also found that the excitatory response of the VL neurons to the low frequency stimulation of the PPN was significantly reversed by microiontophoresis of atropine. These results demonstrate that cholinergic and GABAergic afferent nerve fibers may converge on the same VL neurons and they are involved in the effects of low frequency stimulation of the PPN, with ACh combining M(2) receptors on the presynaptic membrane of GABAergic afferents, which will inhibit the release of GABA in the VL and then improve the symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
Acetylcholine ; metabolism ; Action Potentials ; Animals ; Cholinergic Fibers ; physiology ; Electric Stimulation ; Male ; Oxidopamine ; Parkinson Disease, Secondary ; chemically induced ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Pedunculopontine Tegmental Nucleus ; physiology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Ventral Thalamic Nuclei ; physiology

AIMTo investigate the changes in neuronal activities of the pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN) and the ventrolateral thalamic nucleus (VL) after unilateral 6-hydroxydopamin (6-OHDA) lesioning of the striatum in rats.

METHODSExtracellular single-unit recordings were perin normal rats and 6-OHDA lesioned rats to observe the firing rate and firing pattern occurring in PPN and VL neurons.

RESULTSThe firing rate of PPN neurones significantly increased from (8.31 +/- 0.62) Hz in normal rats to (10.70 +/- 0.85) Hz in 6-OHDA lesioned rats. The firing pattern changed towards more irregular and bursty when compared with the normal rats, with the firing rate increasing in regular pattern. The firing rate of VL neurones in normal rats and 6-OHDA lesioned rats were (6.25 +/- 0.54) Hz and (5.67 +/- 0.46)Hz respectively, whereas to normal animals. Surthere were no significant differences in these two groups. In addition, the firing pattern did not change in VL compared prisingly, the firing rate in burst pattern decreased significantly.

CONCLUSIONThese findings demonstrate that PPN neurons are overactive in 6-OHDAlesioned rats, indicating the participation of this nucleus in the pathophysiology of parkinsonism and the activities of VL neurons might be regulated by projection from PPN to VL.

Action Potentials ; physiology ; Animals ; Corpus Striatum ; physiopathology ; Male ; Neural Pathways ; injuries ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Neurons ; physiology ; Oxidopamine ; toxicity ; Parkinson Disease ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Pedunculopontine Tegmental Nucleus ; physiopathology ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Substantia Nigra ; injuries ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Ventral Thalamic Nuclei ; physiopathology